Monday,
April 1, 2019
2019 WEAVER LEAGUE POWER RANKINGSStory by Jim
Lockwood

SAN
JOSE (AP) - There are three certainties in life: Death, Taxes,
and the Weaver League Preseason Power Rankings! Here is the
2019 edition, straight from Weaver League Galactic Headquarters
in San Jose, California. As always these rankings are for
entertainment purposes only so please, no wagering...

Can
the Tsunamis become the first team in Weaver League
history to three-peat? I've got three reasons why
they can: McLain, Carlton and Guidry. Their offense
took a bit of a hit this offseason but it's plenty
good enough with their pitching staff.

The
Lockwood Division race will be a battle to the death
this season, with four teams having a legit shot
at the division crown. Berlin was able to hang with
N.Y. and L.A. to the bitter end in 2018, and this
could be the year Berlin finally breaks through
win their first division title.

With
the retirement of Willie Mays, the focal point of
the Nukes offense is now 2016 MVP Frank "The
Tank" Weik. Although Weik and the rest of the
Nukes offense should still put up big numbers, the
absence of Mays could be enough to keep the Nukes
out of the postseason in the deep Lockwood Division.

The
Lobsters returned to the top of the Roehm Division
in 2018 and go into 2019 as the odds on favorite.
Former Bora Bora pitching phenoms Johnny Hubble
and Todd Corsby anchor a solid rotation, and the
Lobsters offense is significantly stronger than
it was at this point last season.

Their
offense lost some potency with the retirements of
Josh Homme and Ron Wright, but they've still got
plenty of weapons (Speaker, Schaefer, Santos, etc).
Having Dazzy Vance and Jeff Jose in your rotation
doesn't hurt either. But like the rest of the Lockwood
Division they'll have their work cut out for them.

The
Elephants survived a September scare by the surging
Amity White Sharks last season. The Polanski Divsion
race will be an even closer battle between these
two teams this year, but Earl Zavaras and the Elephants
are still favorites to win their third straight
division title.

The
Swedes have come quite a long way. They finished
their first winning season in franchise season last
year, and are looking for bigger and better things
this year (although asking them to unseat Tokyo
at the top will be a tall order).

The
Knights could be a sleeper pick this year. They
underachieved in 2018, but this offseason they added
All-Timer Hal Newhouser to anchor their rotation.
They added some offense via a deal with Rio, notably
acquiring CF Jake Mills.

The
core of their 2013 championship team is getting
up in years, but they're passing the torch to some
solid young players. But it'll probably still be
a few seasons before Mike Eisenriech, Sonny Andrews,
Joe Callahan and company contend for the division
title.

Will
Lee Valdes ever see .500? The former #1 draft pick
had 100 losses by his 25th birthday. Although Valdes
and the Orcas turned things around together over
the past five years, his career record stands at
104-159.

In
his MLB days he was known to chase firetrucks,
was easily bribed with toys, and had a clause
in his contract not to eat crackers in bed. A
Weaver Times story waiting to happen if there
ever was one... Welcome Rube Waddell to the Weaver
League.

My
first instinct was to rate the Mounties lower, but
some of their hitters are better than I thought,
and who wouldn't wanna have Dick Wirts on their
staff? But it's still a long way to the top for
this team.

There's
Chico Buttery... and not much else. George Witt
and some others in their low minors looks like they'll
make an impact down the road, but this season is
gonna be a long one for fans of the Godfathers.